Are hybrid vehicles not as green as car manufacturers have claimed?

THE latest test reports confirming hybrid SUVs are more polluting and less environmentally friendly in real-life motoring than standard diesel cars (Mail) come as no surprise to me. This is the latest in a long line of eco-inspired policies that achieve the opposite to what is claimed or intended. Diesel-gate is a prime example of the wrong policy to please environmentalists. Hybrid vehicles are impractical for daily use because they need high mileages to take advantage of a few miles of battery power. Electric vehicles are only a little better if you can recharge them at home. Like hybrids, their batteries are made from expensive rare-earth materials. The greenest option are the latest three-cylinder turbo petrol cars that achieve good mileages on local runs. The plan to adulterate fuel by adding more vegetable oil from this September is a leap in the wrong direction. Using arable land for car fuel is immoral when there is no shortage of oil.

BRYAN LACK, Banbury, Oxon.

HYBRIDS are heavier than

cars with petrol engines, as they have to carry a big battery and electric motor, so economy is never going to be good. Batteries are not green. their manufacture involves mining toxic materials which are hard to recycle. electric vehicles are cheap to run because there is no equivalent to fuel duty, but you can expect that to change. the greenest fuel is hydrogen but the problem is we don’t have a hydrogen distribution network. Compare a car of the 1960s with a modern car that has air conditioning, better heating, heated windows, heated seats, power steering, electric windows, in-car entertainment and a fully integrated engine management system. the electricity needed to power all this extra load must be generated by the engine. But thanks to years of engine development, the economy of today’s vehicle far exceeds older vehicles. We ban internal combustion engines at our peril. What happens to the range of an electric vehicle in winter when the wipers, lights and heater are on? As for topping it up, it can’t compare with a few minutes at a petrol pump. Battery technology must improve vastly before we throw out internal combustion engines.

ALAN BuxTON, Rayleigh, Essex.

THOSE berating hybrids haven’t driven a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) as I have. My only worry is that the unused petrol in the tank will go stale! A fast charger at home means I can boost the battery from near flat to full in three hours. Doing this overnight uses the cheaper rate tariff.

At a rapid charging public station, it is charged to 80 per cent in 20 minutes. On most urban journeys, I am fully electric. On motorways, I can prioritise between electric and petrol. In slowmoving traffic, there are no emissions.

R. BAILEY, Twickenham, Gtr London.

ROSS CLARK highlights inaccuracies in published information by car manufacturers regarding the so-called economic advantages of hybrid and electric cars (Mail). Do manufacturers give any guidance as to the likely effect on range if the heating is on? It is outrageous that the manufacturers should exaggerate the range, which could result in drivers being stranded. I will be keeping my reliable petrol car for as long as I can.

B. ARCHER, Killingworth, Tyne and Wear.